Blackphone Promises to Block Snooping

Geeksphone and Silent Circle promise their new smartphone will lock out spies. But the details, including how it works, aren't clear.

With NSA-fueled angst running amok, two mobile-focused companies, Geeksphone and Silent Circle, have joined forces to create the Blackphone, a smartphone designed to put users in control of their privacy. The Blackphone will be available unlocked and off-contract to users who want to maintain a firmer grip on their personal data.

Details about the Blackphone are sparse. Geeksphone designs consumer-grade smart devices that are perhaps best known for supporting Firefox OS. The Madrid company's Firefox-based smartphones are available online. Silent Circle was formed in Washington, DC, by a former US Navy Seal and provides encrypted communications services.

The Blackphone runs a modified version of Google's Android platform called PrivatOS and is carrier and vendor independent. Backers of the device say it will give consumers and businesses control over their privacy. For example, the Blackphone can make and receive secure phone calls, exchange secure texts, transfer and store files, and video chat without compromising user privacy. Neither Geeksphone nor Silent Circle provided information on how the Blackphone accomplishes these feats.

This is an abolutely necessary feature as now smartphones have all the identitiies of the user and almost all private data is in there and many apps take all the permissions to use them before installation. Although it may not be completely possible to block these apps asking for permission but snooping can be definitely blocked.

I'm also wondering if blocking snooping adds any complexity to the code and if so, what do you think it would be? What are the compromises developers of such phones have to make? Or is it just the consumer that may compromise to protect his or her data from non-governmental snooping? (Who knows if you can protect your data from government snoops.)

Agreed. It will be interesting to see how the company deals with the NSA or other government security agency and what guarantees of privacy it can make to the customer. The Blackphone may end up with an asterisk and fine print on its marketing claims.